IIT-H hosts 20 Japanese firms for annual career fair, opens ‘Japan Week’ celebrations

Hyderabad: The Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and IIT-Hyderabad (IIT-H) co-hosted Japan Career Fair 2023, the sixth edition of Japan Day on Sunday. A total of 20 Japanese companies attended the fair, the largest number of participants since the event’s inception in 2018. The collaboration was also extended to include celebrations for Japan Week, held from September 18 and 24.

The companies — startups, SMEs, and prominent corporates — promoted their businesses and cutting-edge technologies to attract students from IIT-H. JETRO is a government-related organisation that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world.

Speaking about the event, Toshihiro Mizutani, director general of JETRO Bengaluru, said, “The interest in India’s engineering and scientific talent is growing among Japanese companies. So, we are welcoming double the number of Japanese companies as compared to last year’s Japan Day. Since there is a critical lack of IT engineers in Japan, several businesses there are eager to employ motivated Indian experts. The participating Japanese companies anticipate that IIT-H students will play key roles in emerging technological innovation and global strategies.”

Thanking JETRO for its support in connecting IIT-H with prominent Japanese firms, Prof BS Murty, the director of IIT-H, said, “Japan Day is a unique and important event that greatly helps our students to develop an understanding and confidence about the job, work culture, life, and career path in Japan. Many Japanese companies will also get exposure to the excellence and potential of IIT-H students through active interaction with them. This year onwards we have decided to celebrate Japan Week at IIT-H.”

Prof Tarun K Panda, dean (International Relations) at IIT-H, added, “The participation of 20 Japanese companies at the career fair, underscores its growing importance in fostering collaboration between India and Japan. The significance of the year-long collaboration for the career fair and week-long collaboration involving Japanese universities, organisations, and Indian-Japanese initiatives is a testament to the strength of global partnerships and technology exchange for mutual innovation and growth.”

Japan Week aims to showcase Japanese culture

Japan Day has now expanded to Japan Week to showcase other aspects, including Japanese culture. In addition, the IIT-H, with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japanese universities, and Japanese organisations has also co-hosted the first edition of the IIT-H Japan Week 2023 from September 18 and 24.

In this event, seven Japanese universities, eight Japanese organisations, one Indo-Japan hub, and three companies participated in the various events to promote various aspects of IIT-H Japan collaboration.